After the drama surrounding the “Bayesian”, an expert explains why it might have sunk. And says what the captain did “according to the textbook”.
Palermo – The sinking of the yacht “Bayesian” off the Italian Mediterranean island of Sicily during a severe storm is puzzling. The head of the group of companies that built the “Bayesian” is making serious allegations. In the meantime, British billionaire Mike Lynch (59), who owned the luxury yacht, has been recovered dead from the wreck. It is assumed that his daughter Hannah did not survive the yacht accident either. An experienced skipper has now explained in an interview with IPPEN.MEDIA how the tragedy could have happened.
According to official information, the “Bayesian” was in the water just under half a nautical mile – about 900 meters – from the shore before it sank within a few seconds. The exact circumstances of the yacht accident have not yet been clarified.
German skipper names two possible causes for yacht drama off Sicily
Skipper Michael Schlecht (73) says he has been sailing since his student days. He has even circumnavigated the world in his sailboat. The experienced sailor has tracking data from the portal marinetraffic.com He tells us that he obtained further information from an English-language specialist portal. Based on the tracking data, he is convinced that “the ship was significantly closer than half a nautical mile from the coast,” he says. IPPEN.MEDIA explained: “In the screenshot you can also see very clearly how the boat moved at anchor.”
After viewing the tracking data of the luxury yacht, Schlecht assumes the following scenario: “As can be seen in the tracking, the yacht turned from Cefalu in the afternoon/early evening (18 August) and looked for an anchorage in front of Porticello where it was not in a lee shore; that is, the wind was not coming from the sea, but from the land.” This was a completely understandable decision by the captain: “If the anchor does not hold, you will be driven into deep water and not onto the coast. In addition, no significant wave can build up between the coast and the anchored ship because the distance is far too small. In this respect, the choice of anchorage was correct, you could say textbook.”
German skipper names two possible causes for yacht drama off Sicily – “Led to the tragedy”
The experienced sailor has a guess as to the cause of the accident, as he IPPEN.MEDIA explained: “The superyacht had the problem that it had a lifting keel (variable keel; editor’s note) which is ten meters deep when extended and four meters deep when retracted. Since the anchor was at 15 to under 20 meters, the captain probably retracted the keel at least partially.” This was not initially the captain of the luxury yacht’s fault, Schlecht stressed. “It can be done, since no sails were set.”
The experienced skipper added, however, that this could have had fatal consequences in conjunction with the weather conditions. “In this specific case of the tornado, this may have led to the tragedy,” believes Schlecht. “If the keel was up, in extreme wind conditions this can put so much pressure on the mast and the superstructure on the deck that the ship capsizes.” It is to be assumed that “even with the keel raised and no sails set, you can actually assume that the ship has sufficient stability,” Schlecht continued. But the weather was “just very extreme.” “And there were probably a lot of open hatches and doors,” the skipper said, naming another cause of the accident.
Head of shipbuilding company sees “long series of errors” – passengers “were trapped”
Giovanni Costantino, head of the Italian Sea Group, also believes the latter. This also includes the company Perini Navi, which built the “Bayesian”. On Thursday he gave the assessment that the tragedy could have been avoided. “Everything that was done reveals a very long series of mistakes,” Costantino told the Italian newspaper The Sera CorriereThere must always be a watch on a ship when it is anchored somewhere, said Costantino: “If there had been a watch, it would not have been able to miss the approaching storm.” Weather expert Jörg Kachelmann also spoke of “negligence” in this regard.
According to the Italian Sea Group boss, the passengers should have been warned and all doors and hatches should have been closed. Instead, water apparently entered the ship while the guests were still in their cabins, said Costantino: “They were trapped, these poor people ended up like mice.”
Experienced skipper criticizes construction of superyachts – “Limits exceeded”
Skipper Schlecht, however, stated that “shortly after midnight the terrible wind” came. “The boat moved violently at the anchor,” the skipper analyzed the tracking data: “I suspect that the anchor eventually slipped (or broke, which is rather unlikely), because the boat glided away at 2.6 knots.”
The skipper believes that the design of the superyacht “Bayesian” also played a decisive role in why the fatal accident occurred. “The extremely high mast offered enough resistance to the extreme wind so that the tornado caused the boat to capsize,” said Schlecht. The experienced skipper criticized the fact that superyachts “constantly try to squeeze even more speed out of their boats. And in doing so, limits are exceeded. The fact that fatalities then occur is of course very regrettable.” 15 people just managed to get off the boat and were rescued by a German captain and his crew.
He himself is currently sailing a 14-meter-long sailing boat. He has made adjustments to it: “Our mast is two meters shorter for safety reasons.” Meanwhile, official investigations into the yacht accident are underway in Italy. The authorities must now clarify how it all came about. (kh)
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